Question

M1 31 month old doesn't want to talk....

Share

My son will be turning 31 months this upcoming Sat. and he doesn't want to talk. I know toddlers his age should begin to string words together but he is not doing that yet. Autism does run in our family therefore, I am a bit scared....OR better yet PARANOID. He knows a lot of words but just doesn't put them together. He understands and follows directions perfectly fine. He was evaluated not long ago and Autism was ruled out. He currently sees a speech therapist once a week but will not say a word to her. Sometimes I wonder if this is because she speaks only English and all my son hears at home is Spanish. I will admit, my son can be VERY shy at first but that usually goes away within 5 minutes of being around a new person. He will point to the things he wants and will occasionally drop a word here and there of the things that he is asking for. He doesn't seem to have any of the symptoms associated with Autism but I am super scared he might have been misdiagnosed. What should i do?

Mom Answers

Does he go to school? That helps a LOT!!!! I'm a preschool teacher and had a few 2 year olds who didnt even say a word when they first started out, by the end of the school year they were making full sentences like they should. If they ruled autism out try not to stress it too much ( I kow it's hard) and re evaluate next year maybe. The whole English and Spanish is also very important, maybe he doesn't understand what the therapist is saying! Also kids who grow up in bilingual housing tend to be a little slower in speech development. That happened to my son ;)

Thank you for responding! No, he currently does not attend school. My aunt watches him during the day and even though she watches other kids too, it does not help that one of the other little boys that she watches also doesn't talk much. He too is being evaluated for autism. I really feel that having a family member with autism and seeing the other little boy struggle makes me even more nervous. I would love to have him go to day care but I worry that he will have a hard time with it too due to the fact that the area we live in doesn't have any bilingual programs.

This Internet site provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.

This site is published by BabyCenter, L.L.C., which is responsible for its contents as further described and qualified in the Terms of Use.